Dispensing cigarette case and lighter



April 22, 1947. R, M, LONG 2,419,409

DISPENSING CIGARETTE CASE AND LIGHTER Filed Jan. 24, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gQua/wbom I RALPH M/LTO/V LONG Aprll 22, 1947. R. M. LONG DISPENSING CIGARETTE CASE AND LIGHTER Filed Jan. 24, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 RA L PH Mum/v Lo/ve Patented Apr. 22, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPENSING CIGA LIGH BETTE CASE AND TER Ralph M. Long, Biggs Field, Tex., assignor of twelve and one-half per cent to H. P. Talley and forty-three and three-fourths per cent to Tillie Bates, both of El Paso, Tex.

Application January 24, 1945,, Serial No. 574,236

in means is provided for ejecting a cigarette and operating the. lighter simultaneously.

A further object of this invention is to provide a combination cigarette holder and lighter wherein a cigarette is ejected simultaneously with the operation of the lighter by a simple manual release operation.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of'a combination cigarette holder and lighter according to this invention, with the main cover removed to show th interior structure.

Figure 2 is a plan view showing the appearance of th top of the combination holder and lighter of. this invention with the main cover partly open.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view similar to Figure 1 with the main cover in place and in closed position.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, I designates the body of a cigarette case comprising a cigarette compartment 2, a lighter fluid compartment 3 and a miniature flashlight compartment 4.

The cigarette compartment 2 is adapted to receive a rowof cigarettes 5 which are normally urged toward the ejecting end of the case by a spring biased follower member 6 which is under spring pressure produced by a pair of coil springs 1 positioned between follower member 6 and the adjacent wall of compartment 2. The top wall 8 of the case is provided with an opening at its end for removal of cigarettes, said opening being normally closed by a hinged cover 9.

At the opposite end of the top of the case a spark wheel I is pivotally mounted on a pin ll, said spark wheel l0 being adapted to functionally engage an appropriately mounted flint member IE to produce a spark upon rotation of said spark wheel to thereby ignite an adjacent wick 13.

A cap member 14 is provided to normally cover said wick and said spark wheel, the cap memberv being hinged to the upper end edge of case I and biased to an open position by a strong coil spring l5, as shown in Figure 1. A pawl member 16 is pivotally secured to cap member l4 and is biased by a spring I! to an upward position, that is, is urged in a clockwise direction by said spring 2 ll. Pawl member 16 is provided with a hooked end l8 to engage peripherally spaced lugs l9 provided on spark wheel In so as to rotate saidspark wheel when cap member I4 moves from its closed position to its open position.

Cap member 14 is connected by a linkage. comprising link 20, bent lever 2|, link 22 and bent lever 23 to a lifter member 24. Lifter member 24 comprises a bottom flange element 25, arranged to normally underlie the end cigarette of the row,

a body portion '26 carrying a pin 21 which is engagedby theslotted end of one arm of bent lever 23, andv a rod portion 38, the upper end of which is pivotally connected to hinged cover 9; Bent l5 levers 2| and 23 are pivotally connected to the rear wall of compartment 2 by appropriate bearing pins 28 and 29.

Cap member [4 is normally held in closed position by a hook member 30,. carried on a slidabl'e rod 31 mounted for limited transverse movement at th top rear portion of compartment 2 and having a. threaded end portion 32 projecting out of the end wall of said compartment. End portion 32 is threadedly engaged by a knurled nut 33. The end of portion 32 may be slightly upset to prevent loss of nut 33. Hook member engages with an appropriate recess in the inner surface of the forward wall portion of cap member M: to normally hold said cap member in closed 30 position. To open said cap member, nut 33 is 35 at the same time operates the lifter linkage, causing a cigarette to emerge from the case. The same movement of cap 14 causes spark wheel II] to rotate, thus producing a spark which ignites wick I3.

To restore the parts to normal position cap member I4 is manually closed and nut 33 is tightened, which moves hook member 30 back into locking engagement with cap member I4. The lifter linkage is brought back to normal position by the closing of cap l4, and the next cigarette is moved into end position over flange element 25, which, as shown in dotted view in Figure 1, is normally positioned in an appropriate recess in the bottom wall of compartment 2 so as to be substantially flush with the main portion of said bottom wall.

A main cover 34 is provided for the case, hinged at one end edge thereof and normally held in closed position by an appropriate latch means.

Flashlight; compartment 4 contains miniature battery cells 35, a bulb and reflector assembly 36 and appropriate switch means 31 mounted in the bottom wall of the body I.

While a specific embodiment of a combination cigarette holder. and lighter has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention other than as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A cigarette case comprising a housing containing a cigarette compartment adapted to receive a row of cigarettes, means urging said cigarettes toward one end of said compartment, a lifter element at said end adapted to lift the end cigarette of said row at the lower end of said cigarette axially thereofupwardly through an opening provided therefor in the top wall of said housing, a spark wheel mounted on the top end of said housing, a flint member secured to said housing in frictional contact with said spark wheel, a wick positioned adjacent said spark wheel adapted to be ignited thereby upon rotation of said spark wheel, a cover member for said wick and spark wheel hinged to thetop of said housing, a pawl member pivotally secured to said cover member, spring means biasing said pawl member for operative engagement with said spark wheel, said pawl member and spark wheel being formed and arranged so that said spark Wheel is rotated by said pawl member when the cover member is' raised, and linkage means connected between said lifter element and said cover member adapted to raise said lifter member when said cover member is raised.

2. The structure of claim 1, and wherein a lid member is provided normally covering said opening, said lid member being operatively connected to said lifter member to uncover said opening when said lifter member is raised.

3. ..Thestructure of claim 1, and wherein said housing is provided with a releasable latch member adapted to normally engage said cover member to lock said cover member in lowered position, said cover member being provided with resilient means normally urging said cover member toward its raised position with respect to said housing, whereby the cover member will be raised .upon release of ,said latch member.

' .4. A cigarette case comprising a housing formed to provide a cigarette compartment and a lighter fluid compartment, said cigarette comcovering said opening, a spark wheel mounted on the top of the housing above the fluid compartment, a flint member secured to said housing in frictional contact with said spark wheel, a wick positioned adjacent said spark wheel and extending into said fluid compartment, said wick being adapted to be ignited by said spark wheel upon rotation thereof, a cover member for said wick and spark wheel hinged to the top of said hous ing, spring. means normally urging said cover member to a raised position, pawl means pivotally secured to said cover member, said pawl means and spark wheel being formed and arranged so that said spark wheel will be rotated by said pawl member when said cover member is raised, a releasable latch member adapted to normally engage said cover member to lock said cover member in lowered position against the force of said spring means, linkage means connected between said lifter element and said cover member adapted to raise said lifter member when said cover member is raised, and means connecting said lifter member and said lid to'raise said lid when said lifter member is raised.

5. The structure of claim 4, and wherein said releasable latch member comprising a rod ele-- ment supported for transverse movement in said housing, the inner end of said rod being formed with an upwardly extending hook member adapted to lockingly engage a recess in the forward wall of said cover member when the latch member is in holding position, the outer end of said rod being threaded and being provided with a nut thereon cooperating with a wall of the housing to maintain said latch member in holding position.

RALPH M. LONG.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 7 7,

1,275,154 Hernandez et a1 Aug. 6, 1918 

